Growing Pains For Fox Sports 1

After an impressive debut two Saturdays ago, FOX Sports 1 is learning quickly that competing with the established juggernaut that is ESPN is not going to be an easy task at all. FOX Sports 1’s debut success stemmed largely from the live UFC Fight Night card that pulled an impressive 1.38 rating, grabbing 1.78 million viewers according to Nielsen. The network’s version of SportsCenter, called FOX Sports Live, also had an impressive debut number with a 0.2 rating.

The Sports Biz Report - Episode 15 - Fox Sports 1 vs. ESPN

Under Further Review: Fox Sports 1 Ready For Launch

Fox Sports 1 launches on Saturday and you're probably waiting on the edge of your seat to see what the next 24/7 sports network has to offer, especially with the Evil Empire slipping further from the minds of avid sports fans. Nobody knows exactly what to expect from Fox Sports 1, but there's one thing we know for sure:

Fox Sports 1 will be FUN.

Under Further Review: Sports Media Carousel Keeps Turning

Your brain may be on summer vacation (don't tell your boss), but the sports world never sleeps.  Ever.  That's one of its greatest attributes, actually.  Sports media certainly does not sleep either, and in just two short weeks, there has been enough news to keep us all busy for a week.  Here are some major stories that you may have missed:

2013 MLB All Star Game: By The Numbers

It’s been two days since the American League’s 3-0 victory over the National League in the 2013 MLB All-Star Game and according to all reports, it was a smashing success for Major League Baseball. Obviously the New York Mets’ Citi Field was sold-out (a record crowd of 45,186 descended upon Queens for the game) for all the events but the real successes came from the millions that tuned in to the game across the country and the millions more that talked about on social media.

Under Further Review: Death of the Sports Highlight

Two weeks ago, Awful Announcing posed a simple question that, in theory, should have produced a simple answer.

Do we really want an old school highlights show?

Under Further Review: Fox to Launch Sports Network

Today Fox will make a major announcement regarding its network: Fox Sports 1,a new 24/7 sports channel, will launch in August.  The sports network will compete directly with ESPN just as NBC Sports Network has attempted to do over the past year-plus.  The Speed channel will be rebranded as Fox's sports network.